It looks like the officer goes back to pick up something and then drops it by the body he’s just shot’. CBS Legal Analyst: ‘Highly Unlikely’ Charleston Cop Would Be in Jail Without Video
Here’s A News Report We’d Be Reading If Walter Scott’s Killing Wasn’t On Video
(Huffington Post) A North Charleston police officer was forced to use his service weapon Saturday during a scuffle with a suspect who tried to overpower him and seize the officer’s Taser, authorities said.

The man, who has a history of violence and a long arrest record, died on the scene as a result of the encounter, despite officers performing CPR and delivering first aid, according to police reports
The shooting was the 11th this year by a South Carolina police officer. The State Law Enforcement Division has begun an investigation into the incident.

Police identified the officer involved as Patrolman 1st Class Michael Thomas Slager and the suspect as Walter Lamar Scott, 50, of Meadowlawn Drive in West Ashley. Slager, 33, served honorably in the military before joining the North Charleston Police Department more than five years ago. He has never been disciplined during his time on the force, his attorney said.

The incident occurred behind a pawn shop on Craig Street and Remount Road. Slager initially pulled Scott over for a broken taillight. During the stop, police and witnesses say Scott fled the vehicle on foot. When Slager caught up with him a short distance from the street, Scott reportedly attempted to overpower Slager. Police say that during the struggle, the man gained control of the Taser and attempted to use it against the officer.

It was during that scuffle that the officer fired his service weapon, fatally wounding Scott.

“Shots fired, and the subject is down. He took my Taser,” Slager radioed immediately following the shooting.

Slager “felt threatened and reached for his department-issued firearm and fired his weapon,” his attorney said in a statement on Sunday. “I believe once the community hears all the facts of this shooting, they’ll have a better understanding of the circumstances surrounding this investigation.”

Saturday’s encounter bears similarities to the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, which kicked off a national conversation about the use of force by police. Authorities there ultimately determined that Brown had attempted to overpower Officer Darren Wilson and run before turning back and charging the officer, who was forced to deploy his service weapon in the encounter.

Slager was placed on administrative duty, pending the outcome of the state investigation.

RAW VIDEO FOOTAGE: https://youtu.be/kXO3Ix_GIyI
South Carolina officer charged with shooting unarmed black man
(CBS News) Warning: The video above contains graphic content. A white police officer was charged with murder Tuesday after a video surfaced showing him shooting Walter Scott, an apparently unarmed black man in South Carolina. Officer Michael Slager’s case is the latest in a series of racially-charged police shootings around the country. Vicente Arenas reports from Charleston, South Carolina, where the killing happened over the weekend.
Related: Walter Scott Shooting VIDEO: Police Officer Michael Slager Shoots Black Man Multiple Times in Back
Walter Scott Family: There Are Some Bad Cops Out There

2015 april footageVideo Rating: / 5

The USDA did a series of Spanish radio ads aimed at getting immigrants on Food Stamps.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has been running radio ads for the past four months encouraging those eligible to enroll. The campaign is targeted at the elderly, working poor, the unemployed and Hispanics.

The department is spending between .5 million and million on paid spots, and free public service announcements are also airing. The campaign can be heard in California, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, and the New York metro area.

“Research has shown that many people — particularly underserved seniors, working poor, and legal immigrants — do not understand the requirements of the program,” said Kevin Concannon, a USDA under secretary.

The radio ads, which run through June 30, come amid a bitter partisan fight over the safety net program. Republican lawmakers want to reduce funding for the benefit or turn it into a block grant program, which would also minimize the cost. Democrats, however, are not willing to make major cuts.Video Rating: / 5

Obama eulogizes pastor in Charleston shooting. Obama sings Amazing Grace at funeral of Charleston shooting victim Clementa Pinckney.
Washington (CNN) President Barack Obama on Friday eulogized the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, one of the victims in last week’s church massacre, calling him a “man of God who lived by faith.”

“We are here today to remember a man of God who lived by faith,” Obama said. “A man who believed in things not seen. A man who believed there were better days ahead, off in the distance. A man of service who persevered knowing full well he would not receive all those things he was promised, because he believed his efforts would provide a better life for those who followed.”
The President’s remarks both memorialized the victims and touched upon the current controversy surrounding the Confederate flag and what he said was a need for more gun control in the wake of the tragedy.

“By taking down that flag we express God’s grace,” he said.

Obama finished his remarks by breaking into song, leading the assembled in a rendition of “Amazing Grace.”

Friday’s funeral service for Pinckney isn’t the first time Obama delivered a high-profile eulogy, and with a year and a half remaining in office, it may not be the last.

But when the President stood in historic downtown Charleston to remember the slain pastor and eight others shot down in their church last week, his speech moved beyond just grief for the victims — Obama stepped directly into a national conversation about race in which he plays a central role.

President Barack Obama ended his at times solemn, at times rousing eulogy for Rev. Clementa Pinckney, who was killed along with eight other African-American churchgoers last week, by leading the congregation in “Amazing Grace.”

After repeating those words, “Amazing Grace,” several times, the president paused before launching into the song as the mourners joined him.Video Rating: / 5

Gunman among the dead, police say; one other person was injured in the early morning shooting.Video Rating: / 5

Actress Shailene Woodley passionately refutes claims by South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard that “violence’ justifies the government’s recent crackdown on Native Americans protesting the building of the Dakota Access Pipeline. Opponents argue that the pipeline endangers the drinking water and the environment of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, and 18 million Americans who depend on the Missouri River for drinking water.

Indianz.com reports:

Protests at the site of the Dakota Access Pipeline have been peaceful but tensions with law enforcement and officials in the state of North Dakota are flaring.

The state on Monday removed water trailers from the site near Cannonball, The Fargo Forum reports. That means the thousands who have flocked to the Camp of the Sacred Stones and nearby areas have lost their main drinking water supply.

“I feel like I just got shot down,” Johnelle Leingang, the emergency response coordinator for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, which had requested the trailers, told the paper. “It’s very hurtful.”

According to the state’s Homeland Security Division, the water trailers were pulled due to safety concerns. Also removed were two air-conditioned trailers and a command center vehicle, The Forum reported.

Upwards of 2,000 tribal activists and supporters are at the campsite at any given time and hundreds more have been coming in and out as tribes from the Great Plains and even further away send delegations there. While the demonstration has been peaceful, some 28 people have been arrested, The Lakota Country Times reported.

Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier of Morton County has been largely responsible for law enforcement at the site and he has accused protesters of shooting guns, carrying weapons and even threatening to use pipe bombs against his officers. But tribal members told The New York Times that the “bombs” were mistaken for sacred Chanunpa pipes used in ceremonies.

Dakota Access LLC, the partnership behind the pipeline, has secured a temporary restraining order against Standing Rock Sioux Chairman Dave Archambault II and several others that prevents them from interfering with construction at the site. Archambault was among those arrested on Friday, August 12, by the county sheriff. Additional arrests followed last week, The Lakota Country Times reported.
Dakota Access was scheduled to go back to court in North Dakota this Thursday to argue for a preliminary injunction against Archambault and the other protesters. But Judge Daniel L. Hovland delayed he hearing after the parties agreed to extend the temporary restraining order.

Body camera footage has been released from the night of a fatal officer-involved shooting in Marksville that resulted in the death of a 6-year-old boy and left his father critically wounded.

The highly controversial case has remained sealed, but during a pretrial hearing Wednesday, Judge William Bennett ruled that the footage can be released to the public.

The judge also ruled that the two officers involved and charged in the case, Norris Greenhouse Jr. and Derrick Stafford, will have separate trials after denying a motion filed by the defense.

The shooting happened Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015 around 9:30 p.m. During the hearing prosecutors argued that as the shooting began, Chris Few, the father of the slain child Jeremy Mardis, can be seen with his hands raised.

Parish investigators initially said marshals were chasing Few because of an outstanding warrant. However, WAFB checked with the Clerk of Court, the District Attorney’s Office, Marksville Police Department and City Court and did not find any outstanding warrants. Col. Mike Edmonson said so far, their investigation shows the same.

The shooting was captured by Marksville Police officer Sgt. Kenneth Parnell who said he responded to the pursuit after hearing the call on the radio.

The first few minutes of video released has no audio, so it’s not clear when the first shots are fired. The video does show Few with his hands up and out of the vehicle. When sound does kick in, it is deafening gunfire and sirens.

As the video continues, Parnell can be heard calling in the shooting to dispatch, but it takes about two minutes for anyone to approach the SUV. Another officer can be heard telling Few to show his hands several times.

When officers do approach, it appears they discovery Few’s 6-year-old son Jeremy.

Parnell then walks back to Greenhouse and Stafford; both men’s names are visible on their shirts. It sounds like the Parnell tells them about Jeremy, and Greenhouse appears to respond, “Don’t tell me that, bro.”

It’s also at that point that other officers begin to arrive on scene, and someone asks if Few is armed. Investigators would later confirm that Few was not armed, despite conflicting early reports.

It also takes some time for officers to render aid, asking several times for gloves as Few fell from the car. Seven minutes into the video, the officer goes over to Jeremy’s lifeless body to check for a pulse.

At some point, the video again shows Stafford who asked if Few was hit. Few was injured but survived.

“Man, I didn’t see a kid in the car,” Greenhouse can be heard saying.

During the pretrial hearing, other evidence provided was a testimony by Trooper Rodney Owens, the lead detective on the investigation. He said that out of 18 shells found, 14 came from Stafford’s gun. The other four came from Greenhouse’s gun.

Jeremy Mardis was struck five times and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The trial for Stafford is set for a November 28 and Greenhouse’s trial is scheduled for March 13.Video Rating: / 5

People with criminal records often face obstacles to obtaining affordable housing. They can be denied housing based on arrests without subsequent convictions, old and outdated convictions, or criminal records that have nothing to do with a person’s ability to be a good tenant. In this webinar moderated by the Shriver Center’s Marie Claire Tran-Leung, the presenters shared their experiences using litigation and advocacy to eliminate such barriers to federally subsidized housing and to housing in the private rental market. The presenters were John Relman of Relman, Dane & Colfax PLLC, Fred Fuchs of Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, and Laura Tuggle of Southeast Louisiana Legal Services.Video Rating: / 5